Contrast

We had a great trip to Des Dunes this afternoon. It went by too quickly. We passed out candy right and left. The village children are so delightful! The desperation in their eyes is unfathomable. As we pulled out of the small village, Ray said; ‘we are bringing more candy!’ His sentiment says it all. You wonder how a piece of candy can change a child’s life, just ask Robinson. He can tell you from experience. As I stared at a pig, standing at a little puddle made in the front yard of a home, tethered on a three foot rope, with two piglets still trying to suckle, I declared, ‘there is a Haitian farm.’ I was reminded of the incredible contrasts in this country. Beauty exists right beside vast corruption and spoiling. One faces one direction and the luxury of a blue ocean greets your eyes, you shift your gaze downward and a scene of a different nature robs your momentary elation. I continue to be mystified by the contrast and seek a connection to justify the terrible discrepancy. A setting that would be the envy of host of vacationers is littered with sewage and eroded by abuse. My heart yearns to restore, and there in I discover the heart of God. He yearns to restore as well. The nature of His heart is revealed in the progress being made here. One of the roads to Des Dunes has been restored to a respectable condition. A drive that took us 30-35 minutes last spring was reduced to ten minutes. I mentioned to Robinson and his reply was ‘election is coming.’ I had to laugh, sounded familiar. No matter the reason or way, I believe God is working through His people to bring change. I measure the success of our trips incrementally. It is all working together for a greater good. Our labor weaves in to a much bigger fabric of God’s design and plan for these people. And I am thrilled to be a part. Tomorrow is wrap up day. I am instructing and training for the well completion. I have built a really nice set-up, and with some elbow grease and time, we should have the well completed before Christmas. Ray and the gang will complete what we can at the house and final packing to head home happens tomorrow-late afternoon. We have hit the jet stream of the final wrap up. These trips end like a Haitian day, all at once it is dark and the day is over, so ends our visit this time. The consuming fire of our endeavors to finish, and to finish well sweeps us along. We are grateful for all your support. Ray and I trimmed out the kitchen today, and Naromie’s glowing face as she pronounced ‘belle’ (creole for beautiful) fueled our aspirations to complete as much as we could. Robinson also shared with us a surprise of his own for his wonderful wife. I will share later, but let it be said, this journey has filled our hearts with unexpected joy and satisfaction. It has been a hard-fought one, but so successful and rewarding. As always, upon further review I have discovered errors in my grammar on the blog posts as they have not been proofed yet. Bear with my humanity; I will fix them when my eyes are no longer bleary or my mind so weary! Blessings from St. Marc.